George Hardesty, Author at Data Alliance Customer Service

George Hardesty

Troubleshooting connections of WiFi USB adapters

Aug 092012

IF THE USB ADAPTER / CARD LIGHT(S) IS NOT ON or are amber (NOT GREEN): Click here

IF THE USB ADAPTER / CARD IS POWERING ON & OFF, or DROPPING CONNECTIONS: Click here to see solutions & details about this problem

IF THE USB ADAPTER / CARD LIGHT(S) IS ON (GREEN), but you cannot see a Wireless Access Point (WAP) or connect to a WAP, most likely, you’ve got a connectivity issue that can be solved by the steps below / on this page:

If wireless access is “Local only” (not “Local and Internet”): click here for resolution to local-only access problem

WAP SETTINGS: Recommended: While troubleshooting, use these settings temporarily on your Wireless Access Point (WAP): Set to broadcast the SSID. Disable WEP. Later be sure to change these to your permanent configuration settings.

WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy: Mismatched WEP settings are a common source of issues in connecting to a wireless access point (WAP). Make sure that the encryption level on the client matches the setting on the WAP, and that the keys match.

IP address settings: If you do not know very much about IP addresses: Set both the AP and the adapter/card to use DHCP.

The setting(s) of the WAP much match the setting(s) of the card in the following ways: Same subnet, subnet mask must match, and the gateway IP address of the client card should be set to the “inside” (LAN) IP address of the WAP: If the WAP is not set to serve as a DHCP server, manually set the IP configuration of the client card to have these settings.

If the WAP is set to serve as a DHCP server (this is the default/typical setting): Set the client card to receive its IP address information from DHCP (this is also the default setting of all client cards).

Client access restriction settings: WAPs have settings to restrict access so that only specified WiFi clients can access. The default setting of a WAP is to allow access to all, and so “restricted access” is only enabled if someone has consciously enabled this setting. If the WAP is set to restrict access, you will need to add the MAC address of your WiFi client to the list of clients that are allowed access.

DROPPED CONNECTION REPAIR: Click this icon in your system tray. Click “Support” tab, then “Repair” button.

Re-boot the WAP: WAPs need to be re-booted at least every two weeks, and a re-boot will often resolve a connectivity issue. Leave the WAP unplugged for ten seconds before re-connecting the power.

IF ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARE TRUE (3 points):

1. you are installing a new card to replace a previous card

2. the previous card had different drivers, which are still installed

3. you are using Windows

Go into the Network Control Panel and change the Default Protocol setting to NetBEUI for the new card. (Windows does not do this automatically when you change cards but do not uninstall the drivers).

Symptoms of this issue: Card does not work as fast as the previous card, in connecting to access point: Appears to lose its connection to the access point, not maintaining a constant green light to indicate connection.

SLOWNESS ISSUES
Change the Power setting from Normal to OFF. The response time will be much better. In the Normal power setting, it may be disconnecting as soon as possible.

WINDOWS 98SE USERS: Set default network protocol to NetBEUI.

dBm to Watt Conversion Table

Aug 082012

Upgrading your antenna, even just a small increment in dBm, makes a HUGE impact on the range of your device:

dBm

Watts

1.0 mW

1.3 mW

1.6 mW

2.0 mW

2.5 mW

3.2 mW

4.0 mW

5.0 mW

6.0 mW

8.0 mW

10.0 mW

13.0 mW

16.0 mW

20.0 mW

25.0 mW

32.0 mW

dBm

Watts

40.0 mW

50.0 mW

63.0 mW

79.0 mW

100.0 mW

126.0 mW

158.0 mW

200.0 mW

250.0 mW

316.0 mW

398.0 mW

500.0 mW

630.0 mW

800.0 mW

1.0 W

1.3 W

dBm

Watts

1.6 W

2.0 W

2.5 W

3.2 W

4.0 W

5.0 W

6.3 W

8.0 W

10.0 W

13.0 W

16.0 W

20.0 W

25.0 W

32.0 W

40.0 W

50.0 W

dbm is logarithmic and mw is linear.

Reviews & testimonials from various customers

Aug 082012

Review by BizTech Solutions: Data Alliance is ALWAYS reliable. The prices are low and they ship quick. For you IT guys out there, DA will get you out of a pinch in a hurry! -Feb 2013 (review on Google Checkout)

Review on Google Checkout, January 2013: Extraordinarily quick and easy. Would certainly purchase from them again. Time between placing and order and getting a shipping notification (confirmed on the UPS’ web site) was about 2 hours.

On Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 6:18 PM, Erik Richardson “dank cajun” wrote: Dealing with Data-Alliance has been one of the few times in the last 7 years that an e-commerce adventure was pleasant. Also, one of the few times I was smiling when all is said and done. Very knowledgeable staff, content rich site (great explanations on how to identify wireless adapter connection ports or connector type for antennas), best prices according to shopping.google, and best of all very respectful and polite. They even helped me with an issue that was caused due to my own ignorance, in which most businesses would not, they assured my satisfaction. That is a rarity in online shopping.

Sincerely,
Erik Richardson

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Your WIFI educational information on your website is the most complete and layman friendly I’ve ever seen.

Joe Stevens – U.S. Coast Guard, March 2014

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It was nice to see the order I placed April 23 was processed and shipped the same day. It was even better to see it in my U.S. Mail box in Vermont, first class mail at 8:30 a.m., April 25, only 2 days later.

William Walters April 2013

===========

I really appreciate the promptness with our last order. Your company is the
only one that came through for us.

Thanks,
Carole March 18, 2013

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From: Jim Feretich
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 6:31 PM

Dear George,

I was impressed by the wealth of information on your store’s website. It’s content was very helpful in guiding my purchase. It gave me a serious, no-bull, no-hype impression. Very professional. At first I thought you might be an amateur radio operator but after reading your bio… now I know why I was impressed.

There are many Wardriving Kits available that are less expensive than yours but your MC to RP SMA strain relieved pigtail idea sets you apart from all the others. Whenever possible, I choose to support technical professionals instead of store keepers.

Thanks for taking the time to build a great technical resource and store.

I wish you luck and enjoyment in all your other projects and diversions.

Sincerely,
Jim Feretich

=========
From: Ashia Gramby
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 10:00 AM

PS…we purchased an antenna and pigtail from you a few weeks back and I was the one who personally used it and installed it at customer location and it was great….by far the best stuff we had in the last 2yrs.

Ashia Gramby, Technical Team Leader – CCNA
Digital Service Consultants, Inc. “Atlanta’s Quality Business Internet Solutions Provider”
4560 Atwater Court, Suite 102 Web: https://www.dscga.com/
Buford, GA 30518

=========

From: Bruce
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 3:41 PM
Subject: Re: WiFi item(s): shipping * technical instructions * feedback

Thanks George
Your doing it right with your products and I’m going to steer some other Ham’s your way, I found that by the time I located the SMA connectors and coax yours were cheaper already made up.
Thanks again / Bruce
Location: Massachussets, United States

========

I just wanted to thank you for the prompt service. I scoured the web for the connector I needed – RP-TNC T-connector: Join 2 coaxial antenna cables to one connector – and was told that it didn’t exist, that nobody makes its. I kept looking and finally found it on your site and it works great.

Thanks again,
Richard Klimesh March 22, 2015

====

“George is a very easy person to work with. Before working with him, I knew his company and I had bought equipment from them, now I see why they are very successful.” -Luis Colunga, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico April 23, 2018

Posted by George Hardesty at 6:17 pm Customer Comments & Product Reviews Tagged with: About Data Alliance Comments Off

“Local only” – no access to the Internet: Troubleshoot problem

Aug 082012

ACCESS problem: Wireless connection says “Access: LOCAL” only (not “local and Internet”), or switches back from “local and internet” to only local:

Diagnosis: The WiFi adapter on the PC (USB adapter or card) is connecting to the wireless router: The radio connection is intact and network data-traffic is passing between the WiFi adapter on the PC and the wireless router. But the router is not passing that traffic on to the internet (the internet is on the other side of the router: the WAN port of router is where traffic passes from the router to the internet). The problem is in another aspect of your network, on the other side of the wireless router: The problem is either (1) the connection to the internet or (2) the connection between the wireless router and another device between the wireless router and the internet. It could be

an IP address matter or DHCP matter: USB WiFi adapter may retain IP address from previous router: See details & resolution

cable-connection between devices, or

a fault with the ISP (internet services provider)

SOLUTION:

Verify that your internet modem is connected to the internet. If there is an issue with the modem’s connection to the internet, the most likely solution is to turn it off for five minutes and then turn it on again.

If that does not work re-boot all devices in the network: Internet modem, wireless router, and if you have a separate firewall, reboot that also.

Windows Vista is prone to the “local-only” connection problem:

If it is Vista-specific, it will not occur if you use a PC using another operating system (including Windows XP) to connect to a certain access-point or hotspot

With Vista: One moment your connection will be fine, the other moment “local only:” And that switches back and forth.
This issue has nothing to do with the wireless USB adapter or wireless card

Clarifications / Technical Detail / Definitions:

“Network data traffic” referred to above is IP traffic (layer 4 traffic).

IP is “Internet Protocol”

DHCP is the process of automatic assignment of network-address (IP address) by a router or firewall.

Posted by George Hardesty at 6:01 pm Troubleshooting Tagged with: Troubleshooting USB WiFi adapters Comments Off

Wireless-N USB adapters 802.11n

Aug 042012

Wireless-N USB adapters are designed chiefly for N-networks and so – generally speaking – you won’t see an advantage if you use a wireless-N adapter on 802.11G or B networks. If you are connecting to G or B network(s), a high-power 802.11G adapter is actually a better choice than wireless-N adapters (generally speaking).

Alfa 11n USB Adapters: We offer the best 802.11n USB WiFi adapter available

802.11n wireless adapters only work optimally when connecting to a 802.11n that’s operating in 802.11n mode.

11n products have one of the following: “3 TX + 3 RX” , “2TX + 2RX” and “1TX + 1RX” ~ all of them using MIMO technology.

Alfa AWUS036NH and AWUS052NH is “1TX + 1RX”, so, that’s why you see only one antenna: For the 11n USB adapter, Alfa tested “2TX + 2RX” and “1TX + 1RX” before they made AWUS036NH. Then Alfa found “2TX + 2RX” was not working better than “1TX + 1RX” ~ because an external antenna is used, “2TX + 2RX” has 2 antennas and they are too close, which causes an interference problem.

Streaming media on a local-area network: 802.11n is best choice

802.11n wireless adapters only work optimally when connecting to a 802.11n that’s operating in 802.11n mode.

Wireless-N enables speeds up to 300Mbps and is backward compatible with 802.11g & 802.11b:

WIRELESS-N (802.11n) is the very latest wireless networking technology and is the best choice if you are using your connection for streaming media and/or heavy-traffic of downloads and/or uploads.

Posted by George Hardesty at 3:46 pm Alfa AWUS036NH, Frequency Bands: LTE, GSM, WiMax & WiFi 802.11 standards, WiFi card specs Tagged with: AWUS036NH specs Comments Off

802.11n with MIMO

Aug 042012

802.11n / Wireless-NWireless-N enables speeds up to 300Mbps and is backward compatible with 802.11g & 802.11b:

802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding two new technologies:

Frame Aggregation technology: Increases throughput by sending two or more data frames in a single transmission.
MIMO (click tab MIMO above)

11n products have one of the following: “3 TX + 3 RX” , “2TX + 2RX” and “1TX + 1RX” ~ all of them using MIMO technology. “1TX + 1RX”, products only have one antenna.

802.11N is mostly in the 2.4GHz frequency band. 5GHz is an optional component that most manufacturers ignore in favor of the cheaper, and much more congested 2.4GHz.

We offer a dual-band antenna for 2.4 GHz band and 5.x GHz band.

MIMOMIMO technology: By overlaying the signals of multiple radios, Wireless-N‘s “Multiple In, Multiple Out” (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to increase the range and reduce “dead spots” in the wireless coverage area. The robust signal travels farther, maintaining wireless connections up to 4 times farther than standard Wireless-G.

Multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO, (pronounced mee-moh or mai-moh) refers to the use of multiple antennas both at the transmitter and receiver to improve the performance of radio communication systems. It is one of several forms of “Smart antenna” smart antenna (SA) in a narrow sense or the state of the art of SA technology. MIMO technology offers significant increases in data throughput and link range without additional bandwidth or transmit power. It achieves this by higher spectral efficiency (more bits per second per Hertz of bandwidth) and link reliability or diversity (reduced fading). Because of these properties, MIMO is a central theme of international wireless research currently (2007).

MIMO antennas: MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased data throughput via spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity, perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding. Antennae are listed in a format of 2×2 for two receivers and two transmitters. A 4×4 is four receivers and four transmitters. The number of antennae relates to the number of simultaneous streams. The standards requirement is a 2×2 with two streams. The standard does optionally allow for the potential of a 4×4 with four streams.

Deployment. To achieve maximum throughput, a pure 802.11n 5 GHz network is recommended. The 5 GHz band has substantial capacity due to many non-overlapping radio channels and less radio interference as compared to the 2.4 GHz band. An 802.11n-only network may be impractical for many users because the existing computer stock is predominantly 802.11b/g only. Replacement of incompatible WiFi cards or of entire laptop stock is necessary for older computers to operate on the network. Therefore, it may be more practical in the short term to operate a mixed 802.11b/g/n network until 802.11n hardware becomes more prevalent. In a mixed-mode system, its generally best to use a dual-radio access point and place the 802.11b/g traffic on the 2.4 GHz radio and the 802.11n traffic on the 5 GHz radio.

Posted by George Hardesty at 3:00 pm Frequency Bands: LTE, GSM, WiMax & WiFi 802.11 standards Tagged with: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 802.11n, MIMO, Wireless-N Comments Off

MikroTik RouterBoards: Quick Reference Guide

Jul 212012

RB2011iL-RM series: The letter “i” in the SKU is for “injector”, meaning that LAN port #10 has PoE output function: It can power other PoE capable devices with the same voltage as applied to the unit.

Less power adapters and cables to worry about!
Maximum load on the port is 580mA

The following letters after the “base part number” (i.e., RB411 is an example of a “base part number”) mean the following:

H = Faster CPU: Atheros 7161 processor (upgrade from standard)

A = Upgraded memory: More memory than the standard device.

Note about H and A, above: In any case in which you are using a RouterBoard for both WiFi and routing, it is worth buying the RouterBoards with upgraded memory (A in SKU) and/or faster CPU (H in sku)

U = USB A-female port

R = B/G wireless capability is built-in to the RouterBoard

n = Wireless-N capability is built-in to the RouterBoard

G = Gigabit Ethernet port

The second and third numbers in the “base part number” of the 400-series and 700-series items mean the following:

The second number is the number of Ethernet ports
The third number is the number of MiniPCI card slots.
Example: RB433 has 3 ethernet ports & 3 miniPCI card slots

MikroTik’s products provide customers with a range of options from purchasing a complete solution, assembled by MikroTik, to purchasing software licenses and parts that enable the customer to assemble routers and wireless components locally. The user can make a dedicated router based on PC parts and standard interfaces, or purchase a MikroTik Router with MikroTik RouterOS already installed.

22-MILE LINK with true TCP @ 100Mbps
One of our customers set up a 22 mile link with Mikrotik RB411AHs with R52HN radios connected to dual polarity Ubiquiti 30DdBi dish antennas. The link has true TCP throughput over 100Mbps. The link it replaced with similar single polarity dish antennas had about 10 Mbps. (Feb 2011)

Custom/Turnkey Assembly of MikroTik Components: Data Alliance provides turnkey assembly / manufacturing, such as installing RouterBoards’ compatible compoents and mounting in enclosures and antenna-enclosures.

Posted by George Hardesty at 3:28 pm MikroTik Tagged with: MikroTik RouterBoards Comments Off

Comparison of RB/750GL, RB/750, RB/450G & RB/450

Jul 212012

RB750-series models cost about $25 less than the RB450-series models

The “G” versions cost about $25 more than the non-G versions

RB750G reached end-of-life in 2011 and was replaced by RB750GL.

RB450G & RB450 have Level5 license and RB750GL has Level4

Graphical configuration interface options: All RouterBoards can be configured using Winbox interface (GUI) and web GUI

RB750G & RB750GL come in a plastic case while RB450G & RB450’s case is sold separately and is steel

Power Supplies

All four models have built-in Power over Ethernet, on Ethernet port1
RB750G & RB750 also include an AC/DC power supply adapter
RB450G & RB450 do not include an AC/DC power supply adapter (sold separately)

RB450G & RB450 have the following & RB750G & RB750 do not have these features:

More RAM
Serial port
Voltage monitor
MicroSD card slot

RB450G adds the following features to RB450 features:

Gigabit speed capability 256Mb of RAM Faster CPU microSD card slot for file storage

RB750GL adds the following features to RB750 features:

Gigabit capable ports SDRAM onboard memory is 64MB rather than 32MB

RB750GL is the upgrade from RB750, which is at end-of-life in 2011

PPoE client / DSL client: All four models can be used as a PPoE client: Solve limitations/restrictions of DSL modems, simplify, & save IPs

“ Reduce number of public IP addresses required by 1 or 2.

“ Assign your 1 public/static IP to this router rather than your DSL router

“ Enable RDP access behind DSL modems that block RDP (Terminal Services / RDC), such as Qwest ActionTek (PK5000 & others)

“Put your ActionTek DSL modem into Transparent Bridging mode, and the MikroTik RouterBoard can take over all routing & firewall functions from the DSL modem. This greatly simplifies your network topology – you won’t have to configure your DSL router or having any troubleshooting problems with it.

Posted by George Hardesty at 3:25 pm MikroTik Tagged with: MikroTik Routers, SOHO router Comments Off

MikroTik RouterOS & Graphical Configuration Tool

Jul 212012

RouterBoards have two graphical user interface options:

WinBox.exe:

Sophisticated GUI with which you can completely configure all interfaces and settings: Router, firewall, LAN, PPPoE, etc.

Download here (Windows version). There is also a Linux version. It’s very light on your PC because it calls software from within the RouterBoard.

Defaults: IP address of the router on ether2 (LAN interface): 192.168.88.1 UserID: admin Password: admin

Click “Connect” and the interface immediately pops up with a long menu of config options on the left side.

Documentation (full): How to use WinBox

PPPoE client (DSL client-router) configuration. Qwest customers can reduce number of public IP addresses required by 1 or 2

Web interface:

Web interface mode has very limited configuration options – very basic configuration.

Defaults: IP address of the router on ether2 (LAN interface): 192.168.88.1 UserID: admin Password: (blank)

Posted by George Hardesty at 3:10 pm MikroTik Tagged with: MikroTik Comments Off

Macintosh compatibility & support – wireless / WiFi USB adapters & cards

Jul 212012

The best WiFi USB adapter for Macintosh is Alfa AWUS036NHR

The best site to find drivers for Macintosh for wireless /WiFi USB adapters and cards is madwifi.org.

We do our best to support Mac users by posting relevant information to our Wiki Macintosh category: Whenever we gain some new information regarding Mac compatibility with a certain USB adapter or chipset, we post that information in our Wiki Mac support section

Much of the information on these pages is relevant to Mac users:

Set-up & troubleshooting of wireless USB adapters & cards

Network setup / settings

Mac OS 10.6.7 compatibility with Alfa WiFi adapters: AWUS036H and AWUS036EW are not compatible with Mac OS 10.6.7 (the same applies to any WiFi USB adapter with RealTek RT8187L chipset). COMPATIBLE Alfa WiFi adapters: We have verified that AWUS036NH, AWUS051NH, and AWUS036NEH are compatible with Mac OS 10.6.7.

The reasons that we make no guarantee of Mac compatibility with most of the wireless USB adapters that we offer, is because:

There are many Mac OS’s and versions of those OS’s, and compatibility with certain drivers often varies by version number: We cannot make blanket assurances of compatibility with certain Mac OS’s.

Therefore, in the past we have found many difficulties in trying to sort out the compatibility nuances among the various Mac OS’s, versions, and the drivers and chipsets.

Our staff all have Windows backgrounds and so we do not have sufficient Mac technical experience to make certain distinctions regarding compatibility matters.

Many wireless cards & USB adapters come with mini-CD which does not work in Macintosh

In conclusion: We found that we have to leave it to the Mac-using customer (who probably knows more about Mac technical nuances than we do) to do their own research. There is a lot of Mac compatibility information on madwifi.org.

Our Macintosh category of wireless USB clients and cards includes a few that are Macintosh compatible: Please read the compatibility notes on the page of the adapter/card before purchasing.

Posted by George Hardesty at 1:34 pm Mac compatibility Tagged with: Mac compatibility Comments Off

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